In the film, Mr. Krabs opens up a second Krusty Krab restaurant, and SpongeBob is heavily anticipating being promoted to manager of the new restaurant. But to his dismay, Squidward gets the job instead because SpongeBob is supposedly not mature enough for the job. Meanwhile, Plankton finally stops fooling around and enacts his greatest plan to steal the secret Krabby Patty formula — he steals King Neptune's crown, sends it to the dangerous Shell City, and frames Mr. Krabs for it. When Neptune finds his crown missing, he crashes the Krusty Krab 2 and charges Krabs for the theft, but SpongeBob is willing to travel to Shell City to retrieve the crown, so Neptune gives him six days to find it, during which he has Krabs frozen.

While SpongeBob and Patrick head off on their adventure, Plankton makes it past the frozen Krabs and successfully steals the Krabby Patty formula. He then gives away bucket-helmets with all the Krabby Patties he sells, which then turn his customers into his monument-building slaves. Can SpongeBob and Patrick successfully retrieve Neptune's crown and save Bikini Bottom...?

Series creator Stephen Hillenburg intended for the movie to serve as a Grand Finale to the series, but Executive Meddling got in the way of that. Many fans widely accept it and consider it a spectacular love letter to the original series. It also received positive critical reception, earning a 69% on Rotten Tomatoes, which may not sound like much, but it's pretty damn good for a Nick movie.

Just as Dennis is about to stomp on Spongebob and Patrick with hugely spiked boots, a larger boot stomps on him, seemingly killing him. Unfortunately, it's the Cyclops's boot...

Also played straight when the giant fish charging at Spongebob and Patrick misses them, charges off a cliff, and a huge freakin' eel eats it in one gulp. Spongebob and Patrick justifiably just sit there, mouth agape.

SpongeBob: I guess you're right, Plankton. I am just a kid. And you know, I've been through a lot in the last six days, five minutes, twenty-seven-and-a-half seconds, and if I've learned anything during that time, it's that you are who you are. And no amount of mermaid magic, or managerial promotion, or some other third thing can make me any more than what I really am inside: a kid. Plankton: Very impressive. Now, back against the wall... SpongeBob: [on microphone] But that's okay! Because I did all the things they said a kid couldn't do! I made it to Shell City, and I beat the cyclops, and I rode the Hasselhoff, and I brought the crown BACK!So, yeah, I'm a kid! And I'm also a goofball, and a wingnut, and a Knucklehead McSpazatron! But most of all, I'm... I'm... I'm... I'm a Goofy Goober! [rock music starts]

And later subverted in the end of the movie:

Mr. Krabs: Mr. Squidward, front and center! I think we all know who rightfully deserves to wear that badge. Squidward: I couldn't agree more, sir. [Crowd cheers] SpongeBob: Wait a second, everybody. There's something I need to say first. But I just don't know how to put it. Squidward: I think I know what it is. After going on your life-changing journey, you now realize that you don't want what you thought you wanted. What you really wanted was inside you all along. SpongeBob: Are you crazy?! I was just going to tell you that your fly is down. Manager! This is the greatest day of my liiiiiiife!

King Neptune also gets an aesop on how important it is to show/have love and compassion when you're in a position of leadership.

Animation Bump: More like a shove! While the show normally hides its Limited Animation with strong layouts, the movie relishes in incredibly fluid and insane, Off-Model animation , the likes of which could never be done on a TV budget.

The people controlled by Plankton's bucket helmets apparently know full well they're being controlled, since after Spongebob destroys the first one, the fish says "I'm free" instead of something like "What happened?"

Squidward says he's going to report Plankton to King Neptune because he "made one fatal mistake — you messed with my paycheck!"

When Plankton reads over his final plan to steal the Krabby Patty formula. "It's evil, it's diabolical, *sniffs* it's lemon-scented!"

Asshole Victim: Even though the frozen Mr. Krabs didn't steal King Neptune's crown, let's face it, he's a miserable cheapskate any way you slice it, and it wouldn't be a big surprise if he actually did steal the crown.

Assumed Win: Mr Krabs announces that the new manager of the Krusty Krab 2 has "a name you all know, it starts with an S!". SpongeBob assumes that he's the new manager (even though Mr Krabs just announced that it was Squidward, revealing a giant portrait of his face to top it off), and has to humiliate himself three times over microphone before realising that the new manager is actually Squidward.

Princess Mindy makes a pair of these out of seaweed to convince SpongeBob and Patrick that they have become men.

Used in a throwaway gag courtesy of Dennis: he notes the obviously fake mustaches, pulls them off the pair's faces, and says, "This is what a REAL mustache looks like!" He proceeds to pull down his bandana, revealing his clean-shaven face, and grows a full, bushy mustache through sheer force of will in an instant.

Badass Bystander: The female cinema janitor in The Stinger. Even when threatened at swordpoint by pirates she still calmly asks them to leave the theater. They reluctantly do so.

Big Bad: Plankton, as usual, though he's much more threatening than he actually is in the cartoon.

Big Budget Beef-Up: Everything about the show, the animation, the music, the special-effects, is vastly improved on here.

Big Damn Movie: A six-day adventure to the ends of the Earth as Plankton takes over Bikini Bottom with mind control devices.

Big "NEVER!": During the battle on David Hasselhoff's back, Dennis states to SpongeBob that he "always gets his man", prompting the latter to jump out of the way just as Dennis is about to grab him, letting out a very long, epic "NEVEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRR!!" as he jumps across to Hasselhoff's other leg in slow-motion.

Big "NO!": Plankton does one in horror when he realizes that SpongeBob's rock and roll of all things is destroying his mind-control bucket helmets and thus undoing his plans.

Mindy does one when Plankton puts a mind-control helmet on King Neptune.

Bastard In Sheep's Clothing: Plankton pretends to be upset about Mr. Krabs being frozen by Neptune during his interview with Perch Perkins when he actually stole the Krabby Patty formula while Krabs was frozen and decides to take over Bikini Bottom.

Bowdlerise: There was a children's book adaptation of the movie that changed it so that instead of beating them senseless, the patrons of the Salty Spitoon punished "bubble-blowing babies" by laughing at them.

Break the Haughty: The two fish at the gas station get this...they crack a joke to Dennis and he pulls their mouths off their face.

Broad Strokes: The film was well known for this, especially in recent years. It has been criticized that the film links a alternate canon in the series, because episodes that aired after the film do not show specific changes they had during the course of the film (Word of God says that the movie is meant to be the Grand Finale, with episodes produced after still occurring before it). Granted, this isn't the kind of show that adheres to continuity.

Patrick gets into an argument with King Neptune over how many days SpongeBob needs to find the crown. This is similar to the argument Patrick had with the previous Neptune in Neptune's Spatula over how many challenges SpongeBob can do.

The scene of SpongeBob and Patrick drying out is reminiscent of the first full episode, "Tea at the Treedome", only this time it's notPlayed for Laughs.

We have a mariachi band playing in the background as a live-action man is squirming helplessly. Sound familiar?

Chekhov's Gun: Played for laughs with King Neptune's embarrassment over his bald spot, which later prevents him from stopping Plankton and saving Bikini Bottom, as he is too distracted with finding a way to grow hair.

Clumsy Copyright Censorship: The cyclops clearly uses a bottle of Elmer's brand glue, with just enough of it dried over the label to obscure the logo and name.

Comically Small Bribe: SpongeBob attempts to bribe Dennis with five "Goober Dollars". He isn't impressed.

Credits Montage: The credits show pictures of SpongeBob in his new life as the manager of the Krusty Krab 2. The credits make it obvious that the job is horrible, but since SpongeBob loves to work, he's having the time of his life. And it's all set to Ween's "Ocean Man".

Cue O'Clock: The clock seen in the Goofy Goober Steamboat has the 12 numbers in scrambled order.

Dark Reprise: SpongeBob and Patrick's tearful rendition of the Goofy Goober theme song as they dry out.

Darker and Edgier: Unlike the rest of the series, this movie is considerably a lot darker and has plenty of horror elements. Plankton is more depraved and vicious than in the series, to the point that he sadistically shows excitement and joy when King Neptune is about to kill Mr. Krabs, not to mention the monsters that abound in the way of SpongeBob and Patrick, the mercenary (Dennis) sent by Plankton to kill the duo, and how the heroes die at the hand of the Cyclops.

Demoted to Extra: Any character from the show who isn't SpongeBob, Patrick and Plankton. Squidward, Mrs. Puff and Sandy only show up a few times (despite all being credited in the film's "Main Cast"), and Mr. Krabs spends the movie frozen. Pearl and Gary make cameos. Karen plays a pivotal role, telling Plankton about Plan Z and activating the mind control helmets, but she doesn't have much screen time, either. It's not too surprising that the creators decided not to make the next SpongeBob movie a buddy film.

Deranged Animation: Ho boy! The show's animation was already pretty bizarre-looking, but it was never this fluid!

Destination Defenestration: In the beginning of the movie, Squidward catches Spongebob in the shower with him, and after a small conversation with Spongebob, Squidward kicks Spongebob out of his window.

The film writes itself into a corner that can only be rectified by a wonderfully ridiculous parody of Twisted Sister's I Wanna Rock. The villain's plans are undone by the explosive power of rock music. Once the smoke clears, SpongeBob is left dangling on the end of a rope suspended above the stage in a neat reference to the literal Greek tragedy deus ex machina.

SpongeBob and Patrick get the crown, but manage to lose the bag of winds. They have very little time to get home, and all is hopeless...cue David Hasselhoff showing up out of nowhere to take Spongebob and Patrick home.

Disney Death: SpongeBob and Patrick are killed via drying out in Shell City, then revived thanks to their Swiss Army Tears. And the sprinklers.

And also the WHOLE shop! Every single fish that was taxidermied sprung back to life through the same means.

Dream Intro: The movie begins with SpongeBob as the manager of the Krusty Krab, saving the day after a guy gets no cheese on his patty. The crowd hoist him over their shoulders and cheer him, but then the cheers turn into his foghorn alarm and SpongeBob wakes up.

Drunk on Milk: In this case, a milk product rather than liquid milk; specifically, ice cream. Moderately justified in that Spongebob is also sleep-deprived.

Flat Character: Princess Mindy. If you think about it, she's really not much more than a plot device. Her only contributions to the story were to be a love interest for Patrick, stop her father from killing Mr. Krabs, give SpongeBob and Patrick their "mustaches", and stall her father long enough for SpongeBob to come back with the crown.

Framing Device: A band of pirates go to a movie theater to see the movie.

Giant Space Flea From No Where: As far as SpongeBob and Patrick are concerned The Monster Frog fish that tries to eat them after luring them into its death trap with "FREE ICECREAM!" came out of no where. The audience knew it was a trap though because of all the piles of fish skulls and bones. The Frog fish also serves as one of their first real threats on their quest to get King Neptune's Crown and save Mr. Krabs. It can also be considered a Disc-One Final Boss because an even bigger monster eel eats it.

Hand Wave: The reason that SpongeBob is able to drive the Patty Wagon even though he doesn't have his license?

SpongeBob: You don't need a license to drive a sandwich.

Harmless Freezing: Although he can't stop Plankton from stealing the formula in his frozen state, Krabs still manages to show reaction to things going on.

Heroic B.S.O.D.: When our two protagonists reach the deep, dark, dangerous, hazardous, monster-infested trench that will lead them to Shell City, SpongeBob, of all people, just flat-out gives up, turns back to go home, and tearfully tells Patrick that they're "just kids" who will die if they carry on with this journey.

Out of all the villains in the movie, the Cyclops comes closest (yes, even closer than Plankton and Dennis) to killing Spongebob and Patrick: he effectively does for a moment. And unlike the other villains in the movie, they were clearly far from his first victims.

Incidentally, this is subverted with Dennis. Though Plankton describes him as a bloodthirsty predator, he has a tendency to get interrupted before he can actually hurt Spongebob and Patrick. Nonetheless, he manages to be somewhat terrifying.

The Hero's Journey: Even something like this can be made to fit: the beginning of the film shows SpongeBob's normal life in Bikini Bottom, and then he is forced to leave the comfort of home to save Mr. Krabs and retrieve Neptune's crown, by facing all sorts of challenges that require him to realize that he needs to grow up. The trench is the nadir of the journey when he and Patrick realize how pathetic they are, Shell City is the "descent to the underworld" (in that they are very nearly killed and only miraculously survive) and, when they return, SpongeBob saves everyone in town from Plankton's mind control by admitting that he may just be a kid, but that isn't so bad.

The "Cyclops" (actually a deep-sea diver). He just wants to collect sea creatures to sell as souvenirs - but that includes SpongeBob and Patrick, much to their horror. Although he apparently has a green glowing face and laughs maniacally when his specimens start to panic, and NEVER takes off his diving suit.

Jerkass Has a Point: King Neptune's harsh punishments become understandable when you realize that there are cruel people in this world who would commit crimes for their own selfish ends. Plankton is a perfect example, at least in this movie.

Jerk with a Heart of Gold: King Neptune becomes this at the end, when he realizes how his daughter was right about having love and compassion when you're a ruler, and he thanks Spongebob for his help and apologizes to Mr. Krabs for freezing him.

Just a Kid: SpongeBob gets this from nearly everyone in the movie. He later becomes proud of being a "kid", because he managed to get King Neptune's crown back despite nobody believing he could do it for this reason.

SpongeBob: So yeah, I'm a kid! And I'm also a goofball! And a wingnut! And a Knucklehead McSpazatron! But most of all... I'M A GOOFY GOOBER! ROCK!

Killed Mid-Sentence: As the Thug Tug owner tells Dennis the rules around there, he is uppercutted, falling into the Tug and sinking it!

Kill It with Fire: King Neptune tries to do this to Mr. Krabs once it appears that Spongebob and Patrick aren't going to meet the deadline.

Though he does have a more comedic side, Dennis tends to be rather scary.

Surprisingly enough, Plankton manages to become one as well. He actually succeeds in conquering Bikini Bottom in Spongebob and Patrick's absence.

And The Cyclops, especially, since he almost kills Spongebob and Patrick.

Leaning on the Fourth Wall: During the "Now That We're Men" musical number, the shot of Spongebob and Patrick looking like old-timey boxers with "a manly flair" has a visible peg-bar registrationnote Used in hand-drawn animation to keep all the paper in place. at the bottom of the screen.

In the midst of Spongebob noticing all of his friends are brainwashed, once he gets to Gary...

Gary: "MEOW PLANKTON."

The scene at the Goofy Goober bar. Said peanut comes out dancing and singing. Then the camera pans to a sobbing Spongebob who isn't joining in the fun at all because he didn't get a promotion to manager for the Krusty Krab 2.

Towards the end of the proud and triumphant "They've Come So Far" Song "Now That We're Men," Spongebob and Patrick see a sign that says "Shell City Dead Ahead", and Spongebob happily says, "Well, Patrick, we should be there in one more verse!" and begin to finish the song, but then out of nowhere the music and happy atmosphere are cut off by the arrival of Psycho for Hire Dennis, who has finally caught up with them and intends to kill them both.

Mundane Made Awesome: The opening scene features a dramatic scene based around the "crisis" of a customer being given a Krabby Patty without cheese, complete with a slow-motion sequence of SpongeBob putting some cheese into the patty, played in the same manner as an action hero disarming a bomb. It's a Dream Sequence, but still...

SpongeBob: You got a name? Phil: Phil. SpongeBob: You got a family, Phil? [no response] SpongeBob: Come on, Phil, stay with me. Let's hear about that family. Phil: I got a wife, and two beautiful children. SpongeBob: That's what it's all about. I want you to do me a favor, Phil. Phil: What? SpongeBob: Say "cheese."

Naked People Are Funny: Early in the film, Patrick goes parasailing with his pants, leaving him naked. He even wedges a flag between his butt cheeks.

Never Say "Die": Averted. The words "kill" and "die" are used several times. The scene in Shell City has Spongebob stress the words "dead" and "killed" as if to tell the audience "Yes we're defying this trope and using the actual word in a movie for kids." and to emphasize the danger that they are in.

Not Me This Time: Mr. Krabs' actions are just as criminal as Plankton's, if not more, but this time he's not the one who stole King Neptune's crown.

Not Quite Dead: Dennis gets crushed by the Cyclops when he first catches up with Spongebob and Patrick. He comes back afterwards for the final showdown.

The sprinklers at Shell City not only revive SpongeBob and Patrick, but also all the other dried sea animals that had been made into knickknacks, who then take revenge on the Cyclops.

Older Than They Look: According to SpongeBob, he has won the Employee of the Month Award 376 times in a row. This means he has been working for over 31 years. Assuming that he started work at age 16, this means he could be 47 years old or older!

Sadist: Plankton is extremely sadistic in the movie. He shows great excitement, enthusiasm and joy when Mr. Krabs is going to be executed. Similarly, Dennis seems to be a hitman purely for the excuse to kill people.

SpongeBob: Wait a second, everybody. There's something I need to say first... I just don't know how to put it. Squidward: I think I know what it is. After going on your life-changing journey, you now realize you don't want what you thought you wanted. What you really wanted was inside you all along. SpongeBob: *grabs manager badge from Squidward* Are you crazy!? I was just gonna tell you that your fly is down!

Swiss Army Tears: What ultimately saves SpongeBob and Patrick from their Disney Death, though how it's done makes sense, at least in this universe: The tear flows off the desk and down the power cable of the lamp into the socket, shorting it out. This not only shuts off the lamp, but the resulting smoke triggers the sprinklers, reviving not only Spongebob and Patrick, but the other sea creatures that the Cyclops had captured as well.

Team Rocket Wins: After an endless amount of failures in the TV series (excluding The Algae Is Always Greener, where he technically succeeds), Plankton at last gets his hand on the secret formula and begins selling Krabby Patties at the Chum Bucket.

"They've Come So Far" Song: "Now That We're Men," with SpongeBob and Patrick finally passing through the monster-filled trench... and the monsters are singing with them.

Tired of Running: Parodied. When Dennis confronts them for the final time, Spongebob tells Patrick to run, but Patrick steps forward saying, "No. I'm tired of running. If we run now we'll never stop - " Dennis then slaps Patrick, sending him flying back to Hasselhoff's heel, where he screams, "RUN, SPONGEBOB!"

Tom the Dark Lord: We have a vile, dangerous bounty hunter, and his name is... Dennis.

Uncertain Doom: The movie never makes it clear if Dennis was killed or simply knocked out when he gets struck by catamaran. The scene itself plays out like a usual death scene would.

The Unreveal: Plankton finally finds out the Krabby Patty formula, but we don't.

Vile Villain, Saccharine Show: Plankton himself, Dennis and The Cyclops. Plankton is much more dangerous than he is in the TV-Series, Dennis is a murderer-for-hire, and the Cyclops sort-of manages to kill Spongebob and Patrick among other sea creatures.

Villainous Breakdown: Dennis is a lot more calm and cool when chasing after SpongeBob and Patrick, as well as during his first encounter with him, then he is after being crushed by the boot and encountering them on top of David Hasselhoff. He's a lot more aggressive and prone to anger at the point—notably, he lost his glasses and bandana, so we can now see his expressions.

We Need a Distraction: At the Thug Tug, SpongeBob plans to create a distraction while Patrick steals back the keys to the Patty Wagon. Patrick offers to do the distraction instead, but then he just asks where the bathroom is.

Welcome to the Big City: The moment SpongeBob and Patrick cross the Bikini Bottom border, a thug steals their Patty Wagon.

"YEAH!" Shot: The movie ends with SpongeBob leaping in the air in complete joy after FINALLY getting his well-deserved promotion to manager of the Krusty Krab 2 instead of Squidward (who presumably isn't overly enthusiastic about the job).

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